Conflict Denies Over 180 Million People Access To Drinking Water – UNICEF.
As the World Water Week gets underway, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has warned that globally more than 180 million people in countries affected by conflict, violence and instability do not have access to basic drinking water.
In a statement made available to our correspondent, the UNICEF’s Global Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, (WASH), Sanjay Wijesekera, said that “children’s access to safe water and sanitation, especially in conflicts and emergencies, is a right, not a privilege.
“In countries beset by violence, displacement, conflict and instability, children’s most basic means of survival is water and must be a priority.” Wijesekera said according to a recent UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO), analysis of the estimated 484 million people living in fragile situations in 2015, 183 million lacked basic drinking water services adding that people living in fragile situations are four times more likely to lack basic drinking water than populations in non-fragile situations.
He said in conflict affected areas in Northeast Nigeria, 75 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, leaving 3.6 million people without even basic water services.
According to him, “in Yemen, a country reeling from the impact of over two years of conflict, water supply networks that serve the country’s largest cities are at imminent risk of collapse due to war inflicted damage and disrepair, adding that around 15 million people in the country have been cut off from regular access to water and sanitation.
“Also in Yemen, children make up more than 53 per cent of the over half a million cases of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhoea reported so far while Somalia is suffering from the largest outbreak of cholera in the last five years, with nearly 77,000 cases of suspected cholera/acute watery diarrhoea.” He explained that in South Sudan, where fighting has raged for over three years, almost half the water points across the country have been damaged or completely destroyed, pointing out that the cholera outbreak in the country is the most severe the South Sudan has ever experienced, with more than 19,000 cases since June 2016.
In famine threatened Northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, nearly 30 million people, including 14.6 million children, are in urgent need of safe water, adding that more than five million children are estimated to be malnourished this year, with 1.4 million, severely so.

The Burden of Clean Water Worldwide Still Borne by Women.
Clean, drinkable water is crucial for human existence, but according to the Women Thrive Alliance, roughly 663 million people worldwide still lack easy access to safe water.
Globally, women and girls are the primary water collectors for their families: In African countries, women are five times more likely than men to collect drinking water for the household, particularly in rural areas; a 2012 study by UNICEF in 25 sub-Saharan African countries estimates that women there spend 16 million hours collecting water every day.
The WHO’s recommendation is for 20-50 liters of water per person per day for drinking, cooking and hygiene.
“Just imagine — those 200 million hours add up to 8.3 million days, or more than 22,800 years,” Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s Global Head of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, said in a 2016 blog post.
“It’s as if a woman started with her empty bucket in the Stone Age and didn’t arrive home with water until 2016.” And as Bethany Caruso noted recently in The Conversation, “The United Nations forecasts that if current water use patterns do not change, world demand will exceed supply by 40 percent by 2030.
In such a scenario, it is hard to imagine that women’s and girls’ experiences will improve without intentional efforts.” Ensuring the availability and sustainable management of clean water and sanitation for all is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
Here are just a few: In 2014, Keurig Green Mountain launched an effort to address the long-term, interconnected challenges of the global water crisis, starting with an $11 million commitment to support leading NGOs working to promote water security around the world.
Also in 2014, the Acqua for Life campaign — a partnership between Giorgio Armani and Green Cross International that has provided sustainable drinking water systems to water-scarce communities in West Africa and Latin America since its launch in 2011 — expanded its work to Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
In early 2015, Belgian beer maker Stella Artois launched its first global social impact campaign, “Buy a Lady a Drink,” specifically aimed at helping to put a stop to women’s water-collecting journeys; the brewer donated $1.2 million to Water.org and invited consumers to join the cause by purchasing limited-edition Stella Artois chalices, with each purchase helping Water.org provide five years of clean water to one person in the developing world.

Nigeria: Over 180 Million People Lack Drinking Water in Nigeria, Other Countries Facing Conflicts – Unicef.
Over 180 million people living in countries affected by conflicts, violence and instability do not have access to basic drinking water, a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has revealed.
These include over 3.6 million people in the north-east of Nigeria where the Boko Haram insurgency has damaged about 75 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure, the report noted.
The report also states that lack of access to clean water is the major cause of malnutrition and cholera among children in the world.
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Around 15 million people in the country have been cut off from regular access to water and sanitation.
"In Syria, where the conflict is well into its seventh year, around 15 million people are in need of safe water, including an estimated 6.4 million children.
"In Yemen, for example, children make up more than 53 per cent of the over half a million cases of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhoea reported so far.
And in South Sudan, the cholera outbreak is the most severe the country has ever experienced, with more than 19,000 cases since June 2016.
"In famine-threatened north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, nearly 30 million people, including 14.6 million children, are in urgent need of safe water.

GenX Response: Activist Groups Unite Forces.
WILMINGTON – When the news broke in June that GenX and other chemicals had been detected in the Cape Fear River and the area’s treated drinking water, it was a call to action for many, both new and experienced environmental activists.
“It always takes this kind of crisis to get people thinking about those things they usually take for granted,” said Kemp Burdette, who has been the Cape Fear Riverkeeper with the Cape Fear River Watch for eight years.
“It makes people pay attention to the kinds of serious problems we have with the way we allow polluters to contaminate the water.” This summer, concerned residents have organized rallies and forums to help focus efforts to address the problem.
The Wilmington group, Stop GenX in Our Water, has a Facebook following of more than 9,000 members and recently helped organized events with well-known activist Erin Brockovich.
“We thought it would be better to unite,” said Emily Donovan, who formed the group along with Burdette and six others.
“We could pool our resources and experience.” Clean Cape Fear members represent grassroots organizations such as Women Organizing for Wilmington, or WoW, along with scientists and politicians.
Contaminated water offers more reasons to bring awareness about environmental issues.
“But there has been progress.” Clean Cape Fear, Maxwell said, will continue to push for transparency and more open meetings regarding GenX and continue to reach out to local politicians.
Another of Clean Cape Fear’s priorities has been distributing information, including flyers, to those who might not have access.

UNICEF provides water kits, hygiene kits, temporary sanitation facilities for Marawi.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday said they are working hand-in-hand with other partners to address the concern on the lack of access to basic drinking water of chidlren affected by the Marawi siege.
“In response to the Marawi conflict, UNICEF has been working with the government and NGO [non-governmental organization] partners with support from the Government of Japan and the United Nations’ Central Emergency Response Fund to address critical needs of displaced children and their families, providing water kits, hygiene kits and temporary sanitation facilities," UNICEF Philippines Representative Lotta Sylwander said in a statement.
“Children’s access to safe water and sanitation, especially in conflicts and emergencies, is a right, not a privilege,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s global chief of water, sanitation and hygiene.
More than 180 million people around the world affected by conflict, violence, and instability do not have access to basic drinking water, UNICEF warned on Tuesday, as World Water Week approaches.
According to a recent UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO) analysis, of the estimated 484 million people living in fragile situations in 2015, a total of 183 million lacked access to basic drinking water.
In the Philippines, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the lowest coverage of basic drinking water services and sanitation facilities, UNICEF said.
According to UNICEF, "Only 62% of households in ARMM have access to basic water services and only 22% of households have their own hygienic toilets (compared to, respectively, 91% and 75% at the national level)."
When children have no safe water to drink, and when health systems are left in ruins, malnutrition and potentially fatal diseases like cholera will inevitably follow,” said Wijesekera.
—Akari Nakano/KG, GMA News

Gulp!
State Senate may tax drinking water from tap.
The California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 623 last week, which would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
SB 623 authorizes a monthly 95¢ tax on drinking water.
As the customer’s pipeline increases, the monthly tax would be $4 for a 1- to 2-inch pipe and up to $10 monthly if the pipe were larger than 4 inches.
The proposal authorizes two other tax levies: a $0.005 per-dollar sales fee on all fertilizer materials is estimated to yield about $17 million annually.
Having access to clean drinking water is a basic human right that should be guaranteed to every person in California, and it is time that we act on this issue.” According to the Appropriation Committee’s report, the target beneficiaries of these funds would be the more than 300 drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities — serving about 200,000 people — that are unable to provide safe drinking water.
At the Tuesday hearing, representatives of the Association of California Water Agencies strenuously opposed the bill.
This is a state social issue and yet local water agencies are being asked to collect money through a tax and send it to Sacramento.” The Appropriations Committee report noted that the water tax had not been included in any previous versions of the bill.
The committee may wish to consider whether there has been adequate time for the public to review the provisions of this bill,” staff wrote.

Over 180 million people lack drinking water in Nigeria, other countries facing conflicts – UNICEF.
Related News Over 180 million people living in countries affected by conflicts, violence and instability do not have access to basic drinking water, a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has revealed.
These include over 3.6 million people in the north-east of Nigeria where the Boko Haram insurgency has damaged about 75 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure, the report noted.
The report, which was released Tuesday, is in commemoration of this year’s World Water Week holding August 27 to September 1.
The theme of the 2017 World Water Week is “Water and Waste – Reduce and Reuse”.
Around 15 million people in the country have been cut off from regular access to water and sanitation.
“In South Sudan, where fighting has raged for over three years, almost half the water points across the country have been damaged or completely destroyed”, the report states.
“In Yemen, for example, children make up more than 53 per cent of the over half a million cases of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhoea reported so far.
And in South Sudan, the cholera outbreak is the most severe the country has ever experienced, with more than 19,000 cases since June 2016.
“In famine-threatened north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, nearly 30 million people, including 14.6 million children, are in urgent need of safe water.

Gulp!
State Senate may tax drinking water from tap.
The California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 623 last week, which would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
SB 623 authorizes a monthly 95¢ tax on drinking water.
As the customer’s pipeline increases, the monthly tax would be $4 for a 1- to 2-inch pipe and up to $10 monthly if the pipe were larger than 4 inches.
The proposal authorizes two other tax levies: a $0.005 per-dollar sales fee on all fertilizer materials is estimated to yield about $17 million annually.
Having access to clean drinking water is a basic human right that should be guaranteed to every person in California, and it is time that we act on this issue.” According to the Appropriation Committee’s report, the target beneficiaries of these funds would be the more than 300 drinking water systems in disadvantaged communities — serving about 200,000 people — that are unable to provide safe drinking water.
At the Tuesday hearing, representatives of the Association of California Water Agencies strenuously opposed the bill.
This is a state social issue and yet local water agencies are being asked to collect money through a tax and send it to Sacramento.” The Appropriations Committee report noted that the water tax had not been included in any previous versions of the bill.
The committee may wish to consider whether there has been adequate time for the public to review the provisions of this bill,” staff wrote.

Tonko Promotes $8 Billion Drinking Water Bill At Albany Med.
The city of Albany alone has 317 miles of water pipes, some of which are 135 years old.
Nationwide, Tonko says leaking pipes lose an estimated 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water every day, there are more than 700 water main breaks every day, and there may be as many as 10 million lead-contaminated service lines in use.
Tonko is promoting the Drinking Water System Improvement Act of 2017.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan says clean water is an important component of economic growth and development.
Albany Med used almost 77 million gallons of water at its main site in 2016.
"I wanna thank Albany Medical Center for being a large user of our water and we take your faith in us very seriously, and we are making investments every day to ensure that our drinking water is safe and that we are able to supply water at the right pressures to our customers."
Drinking Water By the Numbers: · Albany, NY alone has 317 miles of pipes, some of them as much as 135 years old · 86% of U.S. households rely on public water supplies.
· Leaking pipes lose an estimated 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water every day.
· There are more than 700 water main breaks every day.

Over 180 million people lack drinking water in Nigeria, other countries facing conflicts – UNICEF.
Related News Over 180 million people living in countries affected by conflicts, violence and instability do not have access to basic drinking water, a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has revealed.
These include over 3.6 million people in the north-east of Nigeria where the Boko Haram insurgency has damaged about 75 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure, the report noted.
The report, which was released Tuesday, is in commemoration of this year’s World Water Week holding August 27 to September 1.
The theme of the 2017 World Water Week is “Water and Waste – Reduce and Reuse”.
Around 15 million people in the country have been cut off from regular access to water and sanitation.
“In South Sudan, where fighting has raged for over three years, almost half the water points across the country have been damaged or completely destroyed”, the report states.
“In Yemen, for example, children make up more than 53 per cent of the over half a million cases of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhoea reported so far.
And in South Sudan, the cholera outbreak is the most severe the country has ever experienced, with more than 19,000 cases since June 2016.
“In famine-threatened north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, nearly 30 million people, including 14.6 million children, are in urgent need of safe water.